Faces & Laces 2011

The beginning of summer seems to be a time for the traditional cultural exchange between the two capitals. While in mid-June, Muscovites are heading to the city of white nights for Sensation, St. Petersburg residents are eager to come to Moscow for the interactive exhibition of creative street subculture called Faces & Laces. This year, there is one more reason to visit: the exhibition will be held for the fifth time, which means celebrating its first serious anniversary - small but significant, as it has managed to establish itself, gain affection, and cultivate a base for future achievements.

As in the past year, the exhibition will spread across five floors of the historic "Vetoshny" complex, formerly the Meshchaninov courtyard, located in the very center of Moscow near GUM and Red Square.

Faces & Laces is a unique exhibition space designed to capture and reflect bright achievements and trends in contemporary art in the so-called alternative environment, which consists of the total collaboration of street fashion, artistic works at the intersection of illustration, graphic design and photography, extreme sports, and of course, electronic music. Under its rocking rhythms, we ride boards, dance in clubs, paint graffiti, create, breathe, and live.

Among the musical headliners this year are: New York’s pioneering hip-hop artist, the founder of scratching and turntablism, Grammy winner, and truly legendary figure Grandmaster Flash (June 4, Main Stage); and notable figure on the British electronic scene, master of the big beat sound and founder of Skint Records (associated with the big success of artists like Fatboy Slim and Norman Cook) Damian Harris aka Midfield General (June 3, Main Stage). On the first day on the main stage, a key member of the Idle Conversation formation, the well-known Taras 3000, will also perform with a dj set.

For the second time, the American brand Obey will join the festival, which, along with its eponymous street clothing brand, represents the music label Obey Records. Its founder Roam Elsewhere will present his signature California party program Obey Radio on June 4 on the main stage. His colleague, the long-time head of Obey's marketing department, dj Pubes, known for a more underground sound, will mark his presence with a two-hour set on June 3 in the Basement floor.

Looking at the format of Faces & Laces with its emphasis on mainstream types of extreme sports, it should be noted that the musical program includes performances from members of the Moscow dj community Flammable Beats - those without whom no Russian snowboard camp or festival can do. Loved by domestic riders, they have shown by their own example that underground hip-hop music and snowboarding are parts of one culture, infecting this style of life to youth across the country. On June 4 on the main stage of Faces & Laces, djs Vinilkin and Chagin from the cult formation will perform with their dj sets.

Among the rising names of domestic electronics gaining momentum, the performance of Simple Symmetry - the music project of brothers Sasha and Sergey Lipsky is interesting. Over the past year, the guys have made their mark with several notable projects with the groups Cops on Fire and Popeya, well-known Russian sound producer Alexei Lipelis, performances at the Transmusicales festival and Pикник Афиши and their parties Give Me Five in Solyanka.

The club spirit at the Faces & Laces 2011 exhibition will be ensured by a full-scale party from radio Follow Me, which will take place on the night of June 3-4 in the notorious Basement of the "Vetoshny" complex, the former legendary 19th-century tavern "Bubnovskaya Dira."

The exhibition portion of the exhibition in the traditional format of booths and installations will present this year more than 30 projects from local artists and 100 unique projects from official participants of the exhibition, including such as Fred Perry, LEVI’S, Adidas Originals, Nike Sportswear, Puma, Kixbox, Sneaker Freaker, and many others. For the first time, the official collaborations of Faces & Laces with Puma, Casio G-Shock, and Sixpack will be presented.

The special program of the event includes the arrival of such artists as the legendary graffiti teams 123KLAN (Montreal, Canada) and Krink (New-York, USA), illustrators Chad Eaton (California, USA) and Bertrand Mathot (Brussels, Belgium); a unique exhibition of 3D photography on the theme of skateboarding from German photographer Sebastian Denz; the touring of the acclaimed poster exhibition by Shepard Fairey "Revolutions"; an authorship installation "Back to USSR" from Obey; and a new project "Sick Systems" from a regular participant of the exhibition, Moscow graffiti writer Aske.

There will also be a healthy dose of fun - for instance, the world-famous coffee shop chain Dunkin' Donuts is preparing an exclusive donut released in a limited edition specially for the anniversary of Faces & Laces.

Details on exhibitions and projects from exhibition participants can be found today on the official website.